Issue link: http://educator.cta.org/i/726969
CAMPAIGN 2016 of the Republican Party in 1912, when a rift developed between Conserva- tives, led by incumbent President William Howard Taft, and Progressives, led by former President eodore Roosevelt. It launched Democrat Wood- row Wilson into power. He also points out that Sen. Bernie Sanders' run for the Oval Office is reminiscent of Sen. George McGovern's 1972 grassroots campaign. Both embraced causes dear to young voters: Sanders vowed to clean up Wall Street, and McGovern sought to end the Vietnam War. Both were consid- ered too leftist by the voter majority. Gibson appreciates that students are now observing "history in the making," with Hillary Clinton as the first female presidential nominee of a major political party. He compares that to the election of Barack Obama as the first African American president. "It's such an exciting time to be teaching history. So much is happening — and so much is yet to come." tips for teaching about the election • Hold mock debates, with students portraying candidates and creating video commercials. Afterward, hold a vote. • Hold a debate night party for extra credit so students can watch televised debates together, with follow-up discussions. • Host a political party fair and ask local rep- resentatives from political parties to speak and answer questions. • Organize a voter registration drive at your high school. • Discuss important election issues — and ask students to consider how the victory of a certain candidate might impact their own lives and society. • Compare past political campaigns with recent election events. • Visit NEA's elections webpage at nea.org/tools/lessons/64341.htm. • Visit the California History–Social Science Project's website at chssp.ucdavis.edu/programs/election. • Visit PBS NewsHour Extra, with election resources for students, at pbs.org/newshour/extra/tag/election. • For video clips and other resources, visit C-Span's Road to the White House at cspanclassroom.org/campaign-2016.aspx. • In a sur vey, teachers said the campaign is eliciting fear and anxiety among children of color, immigrants and Muslims; emboldening students to mimic the words and tone of the campaign; and disrupting opportunities to teach effectively about civic engage- ment. Resources to combat this are at tolerance.org/election2016. 11 "It's such an exciting time to be teaching history. So much is happening — and so much is yet to come." — ANDY GIBSON, Valley of the Moon Teachers Association 26 cta.org Sonoma Valley High School history teacher Andy Gibson says students who are aware of the past can better understand the present. F E A T U R E